Equity CoLab logo

2024 Advancing Equity Summit

image gallery

program and speakers

7:00 AM

Registration & AR Experience

8:20 AM

Welcome to Country

View Restaurant Terrace

8:45 AM

Day 1 Introduction to the Equity CoLab's 2024 Advancing Equity Summit + Meet Your MC

Rainforest Room

9:00 AM

Equity in Context: Australia's History and Systemic Injustices

Rainforest Room

9:20 AM

Opening Keynote with Q&A – Equity: “Embracing the ALL without fear”

Rainforest Room

10:20 AM

Morning tea

View Restaurant Terrace

10:50 AM

Rethinking Solutions: How Systems Thinking Shapes a Fairer Future

Rainforest Room

11:25 AM

Visualising Inequity: How Data Shapes Our Understanding of Equity, Equality and Disadvantage in Australia

Rainforest Room

11:55 AM

Achieving Equity at Scale: Policy Solutions for a Fairer Australia

Rainforest Room

12:25 PM

Q&A Panel for mid-morning sessions

Rainforest Room

12:45 PM

Networking lunch and AR Experience

View Restaurant Terrace

1:45 PM

Workshop Series 1 – Innovations and Insights in Driving Structural Change for Equity: Case Studies in Housing, Health, and Cross-Sectoral Approaches for Older Australians.

Attendees choose to attend session A, B or C.

A – Pursuing Equitable Housing: Lessons from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities

Rainforest Room

B – Collaborative Strategic Reform: The Torres and Cape Healthcare Commissioning Fund Initiative

Ocean Room

C – Golden Age Investing: Policy Reforms for Equitable Ageing in Australia

Aqua Room

2:35 PM

Workshop Series 2 – Centring Equity in Systems Change: Deep(er) Dives into Principles, Power and Partnerships.

Attendees choose to attend session A, B or C

A – Locating Yourself in the System and Engaging with Power to Advance Equity

Rainforest Room

B – Principles and Pathways to Achieve Impact at Scale

Ocean Room

C – Leveraging Partnerships for Systemic Change: Lessons from Thriving Kids QLD

Aqua Room

3:20 PM

Afternoon tea

View Restaurant Terrace

4:05 PM

Transforming from Within: The Personal Journey to Drive Equity

Rainforest Room

4:30 PM

Day 1 Reflections

Rainforest Room

6:30 PM

Sunset drinks and dinner celebration

View Restaurant Terrace

6:00 AM

National Park sunrise walk and connecting with Country

Noosa National Park

8:30 AM

Day 2 Introduction

Rainforest Room

8:45 AM

Re-Patterning for Equity: Transforming Everyday Actions and Relationships

Rainforest Room

9:20 AM

Community-Led Change for Equity: How First Nations and Multicultural Communities Lead in Peacebuilding, Healing and Strengthening Democracy

Rainforest Room

9:50 AM

Panel Q&A

Rainforest Room

10:10 AM

Morning tea

View Restaurant Terrace

10:40 AM

Workshop 3 – Building Community: Lessons from Place-Based Intersectoral Collaboration for Equitable Change.

Attendees choose to attend session A, B or C.

A – Locals Leading the Way: Community-Driven Health Transformation in the Southern Moreton Bay Islands

Rainforest Room

B – Stronger Places Stronger People: Collaborative Success in the Gladstone Region

Ocean Room

C - Community Led Change for Equity – Deeper Dive

Aqua Room

11:25 AM

Workshop 4 – Equity by Design: Integrating Data, Evidence and Continuous Learning into Workplace, Program, Service and Policy Design.

Attendees choose to attend session A, B or C.

A – Creating Gender Equitable Workplaces: Addressing Structural Barriers and Cultivating Inclusive Cultures

Rainforest Room

B – A New Practice Framework: Addressing Systemic Issues Faced by Marginalised Young People

Ocean Room

C – Restacking the Odds: Enhancing Early Childhood Service Quality and Equity with Evidence-Based Indicators

Aqua Room

12:10 PM

Networking lunch and AR Experience

View Restaurant Terrace

1:10 PM

Panel Discussions

Choose one of two sessions

1 – Innovative Funding Strategies and Collaborations: Advancing Equity through Effective Financial Models

Rainforest Room

Thriving Kids Queensland Partnership: Innovative Approaches to Funding for Child Wellbeing

Investment Dialogue for Australia’s Children and the Queensland Kid Funders Alliance: Collaborative Funding Models for Long-Term Impact

Achieve Foundation and Disability Funders Network: Redefining Funding Strategies to Support Inclusive and Equitable Outcomes

2 – Equity in Governance

Ocean/Aqua Room

Australian Business Volunteers: Enhancing Community-Led Disaster Resilience

CQID: Supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children through Self-Determination, Delegated Authority and the Power of Community

Collaboration for Impact: Driving Community-Led Climate Justice

2:15 PM

Equity In and Through Community: The Role of Social Innovation in Advancing Regional Wellbeing

Rainforest Room

2:45 PM

Panel Q&A

Rainforest Room

3:00 PM

Monday Morning and Beyond: Reflect, Commit, and Shape Future Actions with The Equity CoLab

Rainforest Room

3:35 PM

Thank you and close

Rainforest Room

Afternoon tea available in View Restaurant Terrace

Cormac Russell Headshot

Cormac Russell

Managing Director of Nurture Development, social explorer, author and speaker

Cormac is a social explorer, author and internationally renowned speaker. As the Founding Director of Nurture Development and member of the Asset-Based Community Development Institute (ABCD) at DePaul University he has spent over 25 years working in 35 countries to empower communities through citizen-led change.

Cormac’s work has shaped community development in Africa, Asia, Australia/Oceania, Europe and North America. His books, including The Connected Community – Discovering the Health, Wealth, and Power of Neighbourhoods and Rekindling Democracy – A Professional’s Guide to Working in Citizen Space, champion local wisdom and power of connected neighbourhoods.

In his inspiring TEDxExeter talk “From What’s Wrong to What’s Strong”, Cormac challenges traditional approaches to community support, urging us to recognise the strengths and gifts that already exist within communities, and what becomes possible when we centre people and place in systems change.

Cormac will be joining us via live video stream, and we’re delighted to have his insights featured as part of the Summit program.

Dr Niki Vincent Headshot

Dr Niki Vincent

Commissioner for gender equality in the public sector (Victoria)

Dr Niki is an award-winning change maker and leader in gender equality and inclusive systems reform. As Victoria’s inaugural Public Sector Gender Equality Commissioner at the Commission for Gender Equality in the Public Sector (Vic) she is driving one of Australia’s most ambitious public sector reforms – implementing the nation’s first Gender Equality Act, impacting over 300 organisations, 450,000 employees and the broader community.

With a PhD in Psychology and a career spanning statutory offices, academia and community sectors, Niki brings a deep understanding of how to turn policy into meaningful change. Her leadership roles have included Commissioner for Equal Opportunity SA, CEO of the Leaders Institute of South Australia, and advisory positions with Jobs and Skills Australia and the University of South Australia.

Known for her clarity of purpose and evidence-informed approach, Niki will bring a sharp and strategic perspective to conversations on equity, inclusive leadership and systems change to the Summit.

Professor Sharon Friel

ARC Laureate Fellow and Professor of Health Equity, ANU

Professor Sharon Friel is an ARC Laureate Fellow and Professor of Health Equity. She is Director of the Planetary Health Equity Hothouse and the Australian Research Centre for Health Equity (ARCHE) at the School of Regulation and Global Governance (RegNet), The Australian National University.

She is a Fellow of both the Academy of Social Sciences Australia and the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences.

From 2014 to 2019, Sharon served as Director of RegNet, and earlier led the Scientific Secretariat of the World Health Organization Commission on the Social Determinants of Health at University College London from 2005 to 2008. In 2014, she was recognised by her international peers as one of the world’s most influential female leaders in global health.

Her research interests include the political economy of health equity, and the governance of the social, commercial and planetary determinants of health inequities — with a particular focus on climate change, food systems, trade and investment. Her 2019 book, Climate Change and the People’s Health, explores the global consumptogenic system and its impacts on health.

Photo of Katherine Trebeck

Professor Katherine Trebeck

Professor Health Equity & NHMRC Investigator Fellow, Stretton Inst., UoA​

Dr Katherine Trebeck is a political economist and global advocate for building equitable and sustainable economic systems. Her work sits at the intersection of policy, practice and public dialogue — shifting how economies are designed, not just to grow, but to serve people and the planet.

She holds key roles including:
• Economic Change Lead at The Next Economy
• Strategic Advisor to the Centre for Policy Development
• Writer-at-Large at the University of Edinburgh

Katherine co-founded the Wellbeing Economy Alliance – WEAll and WEAll Scotland, and was instrumental in establishing the Wellbeing Economy Governments (WEGo) initiative — a collaboration between governments such as Scotland, New Zealand and Finland to centre wellbeing in national economic priorities.

Her work advances equity by embedding human and ecological wellbeing into economic decision-making. She’s thinker-in-residence at the Australian Health Promotion Association, a fellow at the ZOE Institute and the Post Growth Institute, and serves on the boards of Hands Across Canberra and the Centre for Understanding Sustainable Prosperity. She is also a member of the Club of Rome.

Katherine is co-author of The Economics of Arrival and is a frequent speaker on how to reimagine prosperity through justice and care.

Photo of Andrew Scott

Professor Andrew Scott

Emeritus Professor of Politics and Policy Deakin University and author

Professor Andrew Scott will be joining us on the Equity CoLab National Summit stage this October!

Andrew is Emeritus Professor of Politics and Policy at Deakin University and the author of five books, including Northern Lights: The Positive Policy Example of Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway, which has recently been translated into Japanese. He is also lead editor and contributor to three chapters of The Nordic Edge: Policy Possibilities for Australia.

Northern Lights was endorsed by Nobel Laureate Professor Peter Doherty, while The Nordic Edge received praise from Professor Fiona Stanley, former Australian of the Year. Both books have sold thousands of copies and helped bring international policy inspiration into Australian debate.

Andrew’s recent research has helped the national government extend paid parental leave and move toward universal early childhood education and care. He continues to advocate for further actions to improve equity in Australia.

Photo of Fran Baum

Professor Fran Baum AO

Professor Health Equity & NHMRC Investigator Fellow, Stretton Inst., UoA​

Professor Fran Baum is a public health social scientist with a deep commitment to creating and advocating for healthy, equitable and sustainable societies. Her career spans research, advocacy and global movement-building — and she is widely recognised as one of Australia’s most influential voices on health equity.

She is Director of Stretton Health Equity, Stretton Institute at the University of Adelaide and an NHMRC Investigator Leadership Fellow. Fran was awarded an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for her distinguished service to public health and is a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia, the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences and the Australian Health Promotion Association.

Fran is a past National President and Life Member of the Public Health Association of Australia, and the immediate past Co-Chair of the Global Steering Council of the People’s Health Movement — a global network of health activists working to advance the right to health and challenge structural injustice.

She is also a member of the BMJ International Advisory Board and author of over 400 publications, including:
• The New Public Health
• Governing for Health
• Co-editor of the Oxford Textbook of Global Public Health

Fran brings a rare combination of deep academic insight and long-standing advocacy for systems transformation.